Shoe counter



Jan. 20, 1942. E. c. BLACKWELL SHOE COUNTER Filed May 10, 1940 IN ENTOR fink/9 6 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1942 SHOE COUNTER Ernest 0. Blackwell, Rochester, N. H., assignor to Spaulding Fibre Company, Inc.,.North Rochester, N. H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application May 10, 1940, Serial No. 334,415

9 Claims.

ginal portions.

Heretofore it has been proposed to manufacture multi-ply counters by combining and adherently securing together flexible sheet material and stiff fibrous material, for example, as shown and described in the patent to F. L. Ayers, No. 2,148,336, directed to the method of manufacturing multi-ply counters, but the counter of the present invention possesses important features and advantages not present in prior counters.

The present invention is directed to a novel multi-ply counter providing improved heel and heel seat portions having various advantages, particularly for wood heels, and which counter is characterized by the flatness, firmness, and permanency of contour of its heel seal flangein short, the counter holds its shape and hence holds the shoe in shape. As a result of these advantages, work is saved in shoe factory manipulations and close fitting heels are readily madepossible wherein the counter closely conforms to the last and wood heel so as to avoid bulging uppers at the all-important joint between the heel, 1

usually a wood heel, and the upper, in womens shoes. In this way, the curve of the heel appears substantially as a continuation of the line of the upper, making the joint therebetween less apparent. Other advantages lie in the thin but very resilient marginal top and forward edge portions of the counter, and the absence of a line showing through the leather or other cover on the outside of a lasted shoe.

In the drawing which illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention: Fig. l is a plan view of a complete assembled counter of this invention with the counter ready for molding, the view being taken from the inside of the counter;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows, in perspective, a molded counter comprising the three blanks of Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section illustrating the molded counter taken on 1ine 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing in which like numerals represent like parts, the counter of this invention, in its preferred form, includes three layers of blanks adhesively secured together and 55 comprises two substantially coextensive and like outer blanks 2 and 4 of relatively flexible arti ficial leather stock, for example, that known on the market as Onco, which stock is produced by impregnating with a rubber latex composition a web of felted cellulose fibers, preferably a soft web composed of refined wood pulp having an alpha cellulose content upwards of about 90%, and then drying the impregnated web, though other flexible binder materials may be substituted for the rubber latex, or other equivalent flexible artificial sheet material substituted for the 0nco. The layers 2 and 4, as best shown in Fig. 2, are adhesively secured together and to the relatively stiff layer 6 held therebetween, said relatively stiff layer being, for example, fiberboard, leatherboard, or the like, containing, if desired, rosin size, starch, or other suitable binders or stiffening agents.

As an essential feature of this invention, the blanks 2 and 4 are cut away or recessed at their lower edge portions to provide an elongated recess or opening 2a, as shown in Fig. 1, corresponding to the zone normally occupied by substantially all, except the front terminal portions 2b, of the layers of material of the usual counter blank formed up into the heel flange during the customary molding of the blank- The inner blank 6 is preferably skived over its marginal portions held and hidden between the blanks 2 and 4 and at its exposed portion in the elongated recess 2a of said blanks, the skiving of the exposed portion preferably being confined to about one half the width thereof, as indicated at 60. in Figs. 1 and 2; Also, as indicated at 20 inthe drawings, it is preferable to skive the inner layer 2 around its peripheral margin coincident with that of the layer 4, except at the margin of the portions 2b and the recess therebetween. Normally, the relatively flexible or stiff sheet material. of the blanks 2 and 4, such as Onco, may have the thickness of only l-iron, or thereabouts (i. e., about thickness), whereas the inner layer of relatively stiff or hard sheet material, say, fiberboard, constituting the blank 6, may have a thickness of 3-irons. or thereabouts.

The three blanks, 2, 4, and 6, of the preferred form of counter, as herein shown, may be appropriately superposed in the order named and adhered together, as previously mentioned, as by rubber or pyroxylin cement applied between the contacting surfaces, the superposition being such that the exposed edge of the blank 6 bridges the recess 20. in each of the blanks 2 and 4, and substantially coincides at its extremities with the adjacent edges of the portions 21) so as to be in substantial alignment therewith-all as shown in Fig. 1, which, of course, illustrates the completely assembled and adhesively secured blanks as well as the final skiving 20 which is ordinarily confined to the inner blank around the substantially contiguous edges of the blanks 2 and 4, though it may, at times, extend slightly into the edge portion of the exterior blank 4.

The three blanks are preferably applied or assembled with cement between their contacting faces just before their molding into the finished counter, illustrated in Fig. 3, is effected, for it is desired to utilize the principles of the method of' the aforementioned patent, according to which the molding of superposed, relatively flexible and relatively stiff counter blanks is accomplished while the blanks are impermanently bonded (i. e., by cement still in unset state), and are hence free to undergo relative creeping movement during the molding operation. In the preferred structure, this is taken advantage of in another important respect so that the lower edge of the outer layer 4 is, in effect, embedded at least partially in the material of the inner layer 6 with the outer corner 6a of the face heel flange consisting of the hard fiber 6. In this way, the entire exposed heel seat flange on the bottom thereof comprises the hard fiber together with a hard fiber exterior peripheral corner which may be and preferably is so formed as to smoothly join with the exterior outside surface of the layer 4 with the edge surface of the layer 4 embedded or hidden wholly or partially in the material of said inner layer 6. The inner layer is exposed top and bottom by the recessed layers 2 and 4, the finished or molded counter of Fig. 3 is provided with a heel flange consisting essentially only of the relatively stiff material which, at the curved portion 617 of the heel flange, during the molding is formed into closely compressed accordion-like pleats presenting smooth exterior and interior flange surfaces. Due to the stifiness of such material, it lends itself to sharp and accurate molding so as to provide a flat flange with a sharp inner edge and a well-defined exterior corner fiatall of stiff fiber material. Forwardly of the molded flange portion are provided the opposing portions 2?) of relatively flexibile soft material, as is also true of the entire remaining forward and upper peripheral edge portions of the outer and inner layers 4 adhesively joined at their contiguous edges, as best shown in Fig. 3. If desired, the inner layer 2 of relatively soft material may be omitted and still provide the exposed molded heel seat portion consisting essentially of relatively stiff fiber, though the omission of the layer 2 naturally sacrifices some of the other advantages of the preferred or sandwich form of product involving the two soft exterior layers with the stiff fiber therebetween.

Thus in the counter of this invention, because of the stiffness of the material after the counter is molded, there is obtained stability and firmness in the base or heel flange where rigidity is especially needed, this being due to the heel flange consisting essentially only of the relatively stiff fiber, as above mentioned. Also, because of this fact, the stiff fiber material, including particularly the base flange, definitely takes the form of the mold, duplicating the last, and holds the shape better than other materials so that the counter, after it is molded, gives the shoe the shape of the last for which it was designed. A resilient latex impregnated layer, as heretofore used, when p laminated to the base flange tends to prevent or minimize really sharp and accurate molding of the base flange fiber as provided by the present invention and hence to minimize stability and firmness of the base flange, and particularly the corner thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1. A shoe counter comprising at least two superposed bonded plies including a larger outside ply blank of relatively flexible binder-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiff fiberboard secured to the inner surface of said flexible blank, the flexible blank having upper and side marginal portions projecting beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, said blanks having lower edge overlapping flange portions in substantial alignment near the front terminal regions of the heel flange said terminal regions being afiorded by substantially only said flexible fibrous material and the rest of said flange between said regions being afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank.

2. A shoe counter comprising at least two superposed bonded plies including a larger outside ply blank of relatively flexible rubber-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiff fiberboard secured to th inner surface of said flexible blank, the flexible blank having upper and side marginal portions projecting beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, said blanks having lower edge overlapping flange portions in substantial alignment near the front terminal regions of the heel flange said terminal regions being afforded by substantially only said flexible fibrous material and the rest of said flange between said regions being afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank.

3. A shoe counter comprising at least three superposed bonded plies including two larger outside ply blanks of relatively flexible binderimpregnated fibrous material and a smaller ply blank of relatively stiff fiberboard secured between the said flexible blanks, said flexible blanks having their upper and side marginal portions projecting well beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, both of said outside blanks having lower edge portions in substantial coincidence with the edge fiberboard blank at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank.

4. A shoe counter comprising at least three superposed bonded plies including two larger outside ply blanks of relatively flexible rubberimpregnated fibrous material and a smaller ply blank of relatively stiif fiberboard secured between the said flexible blanks, said flexible blanks having their upper and side marginal portions projecting well beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, both of said outside blanks having lower edge portions in substantial coincidence with the edge fiberboard blank at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank.

5. A shoe counter comprising at least three superposed bond-ed plies including two larger outside ply blanks of relatively flexible binderimpregnated fibrous material and a smaller ply blank of relatively stiff fiberboard secured between the said flexible blanks, said flexible blanks having their upper and side marginal portions projecting well beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, said flexible fibrous material and said fiberboard material together providing a heel flange with the front terminal portions of the flange being afforded by substantially only said flexible fibrous material and the major portion of said heel flange being afforded by substantially only th relatively stiff fiberboard blank.

6. A shoe counter comprising superposed bonded plies including coextensive outside ply blanks of relatively flexible binder-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiif fiberboard therebetween adhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said flexible blanks, the flexible blanks having upper and side marginal portions projectinglbeyon'd the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, at least one of said blanks having skived upper and side edges, both of said blanks having lower edge portions in substantial coincidence at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank providing a well defined sharp external corner of fiberboard at the back portion of the heel.

7. A molded shoe counter comprised superposed bonded plies including coextensive outside -ply blanks of relatively flexible binder-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiff fiberboard therebetween adhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said flexible blanks, the flexible blanks having upper and side marginal portions projecting beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, at least one of said blanks having skived upper and side edges, both of said blanks having lower edge portions in substantial coincidence at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank in which at least a portion of the lower edge surface of the exterior flexible ply is embedded providing a well defined sharp external corner of fiberboard at the curved back portion of the heel.

8. A shoe counter comprising superposed bonded plies including coextensive outside ply blanks of relatively flexible binder-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiff fiberboard therebetween adhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said flexible blanks, the

flexible blanks having upper and side marginal portions projecting beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, both of said blanks having lower edge portions in substantial coincidence at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank providing a well defined sharp external corner of fiberboard at the back portion of the heel.

9. A molded shoe counter comprising superposed bonded plies including coextensive outside ply blanks of relatively flexible binder-impregnated fibrous material and a smaller blank of relatively stiff fiberboard therebetween adhesively secured to the inner surfaces of said flexible blanks, the flexible blanks having upper and side marginal portions projecting beyond the upper and side marginal portions of the fiberboard, both of said blanks havinglower edge portions in substantial coincidence at the front terminal regions of the heel flange and the rest of said flange afforded by substantially only the relatively stiff fiberboard blank in which at least a portion of the lower edge surface of the exterior flexible ply is embedded providing a well defined sharp external corner of fiberboard at the curved back portion of the heel.

ERNEST C. BLACKWELL. 

